There's been a lot of talk recently about coming together as a community. And during the worst of times, Bermudians are well known for coming together to help their fellow neighbour.After a hurricane we band together to clean up, and when the buses strike or we see someone stuck at a bus stop in the pouring rain, we offer them a ride.But what about our neighbours or our coworkers, the ones that live next door to us or sit at the desk opposite? The ones we may nod to on the odd day and see in passing, but never take the time to actually get to know.What if the simple act of getting to know your neighbour or coworker could help you save money and make Bermuda a better place to live.That's the idea behind carpooling.“This isn't so much about the environment as it is about coming together as a community,” explains Abbie Goodwin-Caldas, who spearheaded the Moving Planet event last month in a bid to encourage more people to carpool or use alternative forms of transportation in Bermuda.Across the world over 2000 events in 175 countries took place from marches to bike rallies to carpooling, in an effort to move our planet beyond the needs of fossil fuels.In Bermuda, people did make an effort to try to travel by alternative means. People were seen biking along East Broadway during the morning rush hour, while others opted to rideshare.“We did an unofficial count and counted about 200 less cars passing East Broadway,” says Mrs Goodwin-Caldas, who is the education officer for the National Trust. “We also received a lot of support and emails and comments from people, so I'd like to think about 300 people participated in some form. But in comparison to other countries, we have a lot to strive for.”The group behind Moving Planet want to see more effort by people to find alternative ways of travelling on the roads.“We're not expecting people to do this every day,” says Mrs Goodwin-Caldas, “but how about you see what it looks like once a month.”While carpooling is certainly an option, many people feel that if they spend their money on their cars they don't necessarily want to share the space with a virtual stranger. But possible incentives include rides shared between users or a small stipend paid by each user depending on gas used. Of course, building community ties is an extra added benefit along with saving money on gas.“Get to know your neighbours,” says Mrs Goodwin-Caldas. “We come together in a time of need like a disaster like a hurricane or a bus strike. We are dealing with a global crisis and this is the time when we need to come together. We do not have oil here in Bermuda and we need to go towards becoming a sustainable country. Sometimes we can't always wait for the Government to tell us what we have to do.”The group hope to come up with tips on carpool etiquette and are hoping to launch a pilot programme and are looking for interested parties who would like to take part.Other alternative transportation options include taking the bus or ferry, walking, or cycling.However, from her own experience, Mrs Goodwin-Caldas hasn't always experienced the most reliable public transportation service, especially from the buses.“There are problems with our public transportation in terms of consistency as the buses are often late or don't come as scheduled. But if a bus is late, call and report it. Demand that they meet what they say they are going to do. Are the buses late because they are stuck in traffic? If more people use the buses, the better the bus will have to be.And of course, there's always the problem of industrial action. During the recent bus strike, Bermudians pitched in to help those stranded by public transportation. The Facebook page Help give a ride to work Bermuda was set up and hundreds of people joined offering lifts during the strike. Many tied pink and blue ribbons to their cars to show their support and that they were willing to give a ride.The page is still active and the organisers are now using the momentum from the bus strike to encourage carpooling on a regular basis.“We are looking at building upon the community spirit from the bus strike where people gladly shared rides with each other to help them get around Bermuda,” explains organiser Don Burgess. “We see this not only as a way to build community spirit, but also help reduce traffic congestion on our roads and be more eco-friendly by producing less pollution.”The group hope to have an announcement by the end of the year in order to make it easier for people to consider carpooling.In the meantime, Greenrock has come up with some great ideas for individuals in the community to give carpooling a chance.Greenrock adds: “Carpooling is not an unfamiliar or new concept, yet in Bermuda, it's generally one that is deemed far-fetched. Why? Many don't like to give up control of personal schedules or rely on others, deem it inconvenient, or don't like the idea of sharing space with others they may not know well. Also, as our society has become more affluent over the last few decades, car ownership has become more widespread.”Due to our size and proximity to each other, as well as the fact that most of us are travelling to the same place every day, carpooling can be a reality in Bermuda.Below are some suggestions for starting and coordinating a carpool at work, your child's school or in your neighbourhood.For companies· Interested employees can speak to senior management and human resources for their buy-in and support; if your company has a Green Team, call a meeting to discuss ways to approach other employees (as company cultures vary).· Senior management and human resources can establish incentives for those employees who participate regularly in the company carpool eg priority parking, rewards programmes.· Organise carpool groups by parish and work schedules (someone who likes to get to work before 8.30am will not want to travel with those who get to work for 9am or after). Those employees who work late may want to organise a different carpool group leaving work or take public transportation home.· Create a pick-up/departure schedule should include each person, what time and where they will be picked up, and also establish times for leaving at the end of the day.· If necessary, create a fee schedule for each person participating the fee for each person participating, who they need to pay and when payment is due; or participants may be happy to rotate driving without paying costs for gas.· Establish standard rules for the carpool groups in your company how long a driver will wait, an alternative driver for sick days, contact information for sick days and agree on conduct inside the car (music, cell phones, food, drinks and smoking). Human resources or the company Green Team can put together a standard list to save awkward discussions.· Car pool passengers can assist during ride times by using cell phones (calls/texts) to alert other passengers about current location, pick-up times etc for efficiency.· Assess your carpool programme after several weeks and look to make initial improvements using employees' feedback; keep persevering knowing that there may be initial complaints or lack of support but acknowledge that for an initiative like this to succeed, it must be given due time to work itself out.For schools· Interested parents may want to first consider contacting the school (principal, administrator etc) to gauge their level of interest in supporting and assistance in coordinating a carpool programme.· Find out whether it's possible to access your school's student directory listing all families, grade levels and addresses.· Contact other parents at your child's school to see if they live in or around your neighbourhood. Ask them if they'd be interested in working out a carpool schedule.· Create a pick-up schedule with all interested families, determining what days and times work best for each. Make sure responsibilities are distributed evenly (rotate drivers' frequently or assign set days). Include names of parents, children, addresses and phone numbers.· Create rules for the carpool programme and pass out to everyone involved how long a driver will wait for each student, an alternative driver for sick days, contact information for sick days and proper conduct in the vehicle (music, cell phones, food, drinks and smoking).For neighbours· Consider talking to your immediate and surrounding neighbours to gauge their level of interest in participating in a carpool programme.· Find out which of your neighbours travel to your same location each day (eg Hamilton) and what their work schedules are.· Create a schedule for participating neighbours agree to drivers (assign days) where possible, departure times, and what time and where they will be dropped off; designate a place to meet for the ride home.· Agree to and create a fee schedule for each person participating who they need to pay and when payment is due; or participants may be happy to rotate driving without paying costs for gas.If launching a carpool programme seems overwhelming, consider organising a Carpool Week to raise the level of interest and allow people to try it without any long-term commitment.***If you and/or your company would like more ideas about carpooling, Greenrock's Green Building Forum can help provide a knowledge and ideas sharing platform.Contact president[AT]greenrock.org or info[AT]greenrock.org for more information.